Cricket Australia celebrates international cricket in ‘You Need To See It’ campaign via Special
Independent creative agency Special has created a new brand platform for Cricket Australia, focussing on celebrating international cricket in the upcoming summer season.
The new platform, You Need To See It, is the rallying cry for the international season and invites all fans and newcomers to see cricket as the strategically thrilling, culturally captivating, and nationally inspiring game it is.
But not everyone sees it the same way. We all see cricket from our own point of view.
Some see almost 150 years of incredible rivalries. Some see records being broken. Others see superstitions, camaraderie, or a chance for revenge. Some see it four-eyed, one eyed or maybe even a little blurry-eyed. Some just haven’t seen it at all… not yet anyway.
The campaign highlights and celebrates all these different perspectives using the rousing, iconic Hunters & Collectors hit, “Do you see what I see?”, to celebrate international cricket’s enduring place at the heart of the Australian summer calendar.
The 60 second brand TVC take viewers on a first-person journey through multiple perspectives of the game. Shot by Dave Ma at FINCH, the film follows fans and players across three formats – Test, ODI, T20 – in a celebration of the sport.
Cricket Australia Head of Brand & Marketing Teresa Basile said: “Cricket has long provided the sights and sounds of the Australian summer and we wanted a campaign that ensures our game continues to dominate the seasonal conversation.
“This distinctive campaign showcases all the emotions and perspectives of international cricket, encouraging new fans to experience the excitement for the first time while inspiring cricket diehards to support Australia again this summer.
“We are thrilled to introduce ‘You Need To See It and incorporate the Hunters and Collectors’ iconic anthem ‘Do You See What I See’ into the campaign and can’t wait for the international cricket season ahead.
“I would like to thank our creative partner Special Australia who worked in collaboration to deliver the campaign.”
Bec Stambanis, Partner/CSO at Special said: “International cricket holds a very special place in Australian culture. It truly is unmatched in its iconic battles and long-standing rivalries that have played out over cultures, continents and generations. We are thrilled to be able to bring all those different perspectives together in a new rallying cry that shows the passion and drama that will unfold in an unforgettable season of cricket.”
For static channels, Special wanted to celebrate the heroes of the men’s and women’s teams from a fresh angle. They worked with photographer Tobias Rowles to create a suite of images capturing the emotion of the game.
Adam Ferrie and Peter Cvetkovski, Creative Directors at Special said: “We’re used to seeing cricket from the broadcast perspective, but there’s nothing quite like experiencing it live in the stadium. We wanted to capture all the different perspectives that show just how great the experience really is—not just for cricket fans, but for anyone looking for an exciting live event.”
The campaign launched nationally with an initial brand phase in high-impact TV & OOH placements including 60” spots in the AFL and NRL grand finals. It will then evolve throughout the international summer of cricket with bespoke 360 integrated campaigns for the Pakistan ODI and T20, India Test Series and the Women’s Ashes.
This is the first collaboration between Cricket Australia and Special since the agency’s appointment in May 2024.
Client: Cricket Australia
Alex Lavelle: General Manager ‑ Digital, Marketing & Communications
Teresa Basile: Head of Brand & Marketing
David Hutchinson: Senior Marketing Manager – Participation & International
Sarah Quinlan: Senior Performance Marketing Manager
Gemma Dyer: Marketing Lead – International & Brand
Samantha Scott: Marketing Project Specialist
Emily Beaumont: Marketing Coordinator – Participation & International
Harrison Orchard: Channel Strategy & Implementation Lead
Agency: Special
Partner/CEO: Lindsey Evans
Partners/CCO: Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber
Partner/CSO: Rebecca Stambanis
ECD: Ryan Fitzgerald
CD: Peter Cvetkovski & Adam Ferrie
Art Director: Bella Plush
Copywriter: Shaun Mcfarlane
Designer: Sarah Ristevski
Design Director: Adam Shear
Team Lead/Director of Business Management: Ollie May
Team Lead/Director of New Business: Georgia Newton
Team Lead: Tom Patterson
Business Director: Ed Taylor
Business Manager: Kiran Arunasalam
Strategist: Ollie Immurs
Head of Film + Content: Sophie Simmons
Integrated Producer: Glen Mcleod
Digital producer: Gigi Song
Production Company Film: Finch
Director: Dave Ma
Executive Producer/MD: Corey Esse
Executive Producer: Nick Simkins
Producer: Bryce Lintern
Casting: Byrne Creative
DP: Max Walter
Offline: Arc Edit
Editor: Elise Butt
Post Production Grade/Online: Manimal Post
Colourist: Trish Cahill
Production Company Stills: Sam I Am
Photographer: Tobias Rowles
Executive Producer: Rich Cole
Senior Producer: Melanie Reardon
Sound Design: Rumble Studios
Senior Sound Designer: Liam Annert
Music Supervision: Music Mill
Music: Hunters & Collectors ‘Do You See What I See’
Media Agency: Initiative
16 Comments
I was waiting for the clever bit or the idea. Neither came
I think sports brands in particular really struggle to create ads that speak to new audiences.
This is just a hype reel of everything current fans enjoy about the sport. If you want to really convince new audiences to give live cricket a go you definitely need something more pointed. Your diehards will go anyway. Spend your dollars attracting the next generation.
this is really bad.
called want their promo back
“No matter how you see it. You need to see it live”????? Geeeeeeez…..
Cricket Australia, NRL, AFL… all very difficult clients.
Given that, this is solid.
As a cricket fan I love this and has got me excited to buy tickets. I think with only 5 negative comments on this i would say that’s a sign of how good it is. Happy long weekend guys. No cricket to watch but plenty of other sport. Go the panthers.
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This isn’t the standard I’d expect from Special – in strategy or creative execution.
This is a terrible ad, we can all agree on that. To me it says cricket australia still hasn’t sorted its governance issues out. If they had they could use an agency like special and create something amazing. This is wall paper done worse than what channel 9 does.
I didn’t realise Ian Healy’s niece played. That’s cool.
But it didn’t feel like a rousing Australian rally cry. I mean come on. Aussie
Trying to find a space in the members at the SCG, oversold and over priced
If we ‘need to see it’ then maybe it shouldn’t be behind a paywall. A great sporting code slipping into irrelevance with Australian audiences.
@One for the fans – you probably need to take a look at the ticket sales the last few years and then rethink what you think the challenge CA are trying to address. What is it you think would attract a new fan that is not included in this ad?
@Used to see it – pretty sure Channel 7 is still free
How does this promote at game attendance vs watching at home? The outdoor is fine, if not extremly expected, but that AV is wallpaper.
CA has lost it’s way in the last few years when it comes to marketing the at game experience and clearly juxtaposing it against the ‘free’ option of watching on TV.
Around 10 years ago they had it right, but now it’s hypereels and highlights.